Chapter 28 #2
I was stunned. The Fleet paid for our furniture?
I realized I’d unwittingly said this out loud when Xero replied, “Yes. Food is also provided by the Fleet. You may order whatever you wish, though fresh foods may come under scrutiny if you order vast amounts of luxury items, such as Kobe beef steaks, caviar, fresh lobster, and so on on a weekly basis.”
“Yeah, no, I won’t be doing that. But, um, so say it was our wedding anniversary.
It would be okay to order fancy champagne, the beef, lobster, and stuff like that for a party then?
” I didn’t plan on ever doing that, maybe a nice dinner at home with just the two of us and some candles, but I was curious.
“That would be acceptable as long as it was not a large event.”
“Gotcha.” Geesh! These Mylos were even more generous than anyone down on Earth expected.
I bet if people knew they'd get free health care, free high quality food, free child care, only had to cook if they felt like it, free furniture and moving expenses, and a free education, they’d be a lot more people applying and not caring if they got matched as hello, they really did find your perfect other half.
I glanced back over at the image Xero was showing me and laughed.
He’d changed the picture, angling the room to show me sitting on the sofa with Morris on my lap, Darla in a chair opposite, with mugs of what was probably coffee topped with marshmallows in front of us.
Molly was laying on her back on the beanbag, feet in the air, fast asleep, with Neal sprawled next to her on his tummy, reading a picture book.
Jolar was coming in from the dining room carrying a tray of snacks with a man I recognized from publicity stills and newscasts as Commander Gundar.
The commander held two more mugs in his hands.
“Okay, get it,” I decided. “What else does the allowance cover?”
“Books are always free. You may choose as many as you like and they will be shipped up.”
“For reals?”
“Reading feeds the mind and soul, so reading material is considered a necessary item for well rounded living. Also, recreational activity is also paid for anyway, so fiction would be covered under that even if books themselves were not.”
“Holy shit. It’s like I’ve moved to Shangri-freaking-la!”
“Would you like to order books now or continue shopping for furniture?”
The image turned yet again and I got a new view of the dining room, empty of furniture. “Would you like to add things that match or change the look entirely?”
“I can redecorate too, ha! I’d forgotten about that. Umm, yeah. Might as well go whole hog! But, um, if Jolar hates it, will they get mad if we send it all back and get something different?”
“Not at all. Items which are like new will simply get reused again first. Items which show signs of obvious use will be donated to the thrift store on The Star Farer.”
“There’s a thrift store?” Oh, wow. I loved thrift stores!
“Yes, and you simply choose what you like. It’s paid for by charging the appropriate allowance.”
“I need to find out how to get there,” I decided.
“Do you wish to wait and shop there for your dining room?”
That was a hell yes. If there wasn’t anything I wanted or enough to restyle the room, I could always come back and order from Xero.
“Yeah, let’s do that. Okay, so let’s order some books now instead. How many picture books will the small bookcase hold and still be able to see at least part of each cover?”
Within moments, Xero and I had chosen a list of Dr. Seuss books, some Berenstain Bears, and some Caldecott winners Xero recommended.
We chose titles not available from his class library so that we expanded his available choices.
The tall bookshelves I ordered The Magic Treehouse books for, as well as the Oz books.
His class library already had the Clifford the Big Red Dog and Peter Rabbit and Winnie the Pooh books which made me really happy.
They also had some of the Dr. Seuss and Berenstain Bear ones, so all we’d had to do was fill in the gaps.
“The Paddington Bear books are ordered frequently,” Xero suggested, and I grinned. “Yes! Um, I know it’s a toy so will come out of his wages -”
“All expenses are paid. There are no ‘wages’ within the Fleet as your planet’s system works it.”
“Toys are recreational expenses?” I guessed.
“Indeed.”
“Okay, um, order a Paddington Bear to go on the shelf next to the books.” It would look cute and Neal could play with it if he wanted.
”I think that should do it for now. We can add more later.
Oh wait!” I remembered some books my first grade teacher read out loud to us. “Get the Beezus and Ramona books too.”
I was shocked to find nearly two hours had gone by and immediately became alarmed as I’d not heard a peep from Neal. In fact, I couldn’t hear him at all. I quickly peeked into his room, smiling as I saw him hard at work building. He glanced up at me and waved his current project at me.
“Look, Papa! I’m building a whole Fleet! Like ours, only kitties!”
“That’s fantastic!” I told him. “We’ll have to show Daddy when he gets home.”
“Yeah!”
A chime alerted me someone was at the door. “Okay, well, I best go get that. Come out when you’re ready for a snack.”
‘Okay, Papa.” He returned to his task.
To my surprise, there was a crew of Mylos and human males at my door, along with a couple of grav pallets stacked high.
“You ordered some furniture,” one of the Mylos said.
“Yes! I wasn’t expecting it so quickly, though.”
He shrugged. “They never do, but if it’s in stock, we just gotta load it up from ship’s stores. Show us where you want it and we’ll get it put together and set up for you.”
“Um, Xero? Could you please put up the picture you showed me?”
Xero obliged, putting up the one without any of us in it.
“Hmm, plants will probably arrive tomorrow,” he said and they began unloading boxes.
“Would you guys like something cold to drink?” I asked, feeling bad that they were doing all the work.
Hearing a chorus of yeses, I went to grab the pitcher of lemonade from the fridge and some glasses.
“A guy could definitely get used to all of this,” I murmured to myself, pouring. It was definitely a far cry from my old life and certainly all for the better.